Militancy, Power, and Identity: The Silent Sentinels as Women Fighting for Political Voice

Abstract

In 1917, National Woman's Party members waged a silent protest outside the White House for woman suffrage. This essay argues that these protesters, the "Silent Sentinels," drew strength from restricting ideological forces to constitute a militant identity. First, the Sentinels enacted early twentieth-century gender ideology and provided political voice to women. Second, the Sentinels appropriated the authority of the rhetorical presidency and constituted themselves and American women as part of the U.S. democratic process. Last, the Sentinels incorporated President Wilson's militaristic doctrine into their militant logic, motivating their fight for woman suffrage as soldiers liberating the oppressed.

Towards a Democratic Theory of Silence

“…It was instrumental, for instance, to the National Women’s Party’s fight for universal suffrage. Notably, a group of “Silent Sentinels” sought to symbolize women’s “voicelessness” by standing outside the White House, six days a week, for two full years between 1917 and 1919 (Stillion Southard, 2008). Similarly, in 1917, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People famously organized a “Silent Protest Parade” of 10,000 in New York, to pressure President Woodrow Wilson to fulfill his promise to legislate federal anti-lynching laws.…”

My Fight or Yours: Stereotypes of Activists From Advantaged and Disadvantaged Groups

“…For many social causes in the United States, there is a long-standing history of activism, with individuals coming together to challenge the status quo through collective action. Back in 1917, the Silent Sentinels, a group of women supportive of women’s suffrage, protested in front of the White House for a two- and half-year long timespan inclusive of some 2,000 women (Southard, 2007). In 1955, Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus in compliance with segregation laws; the arrest of the latter ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and the broader civil rights movement (Schwartz, 2009).…”